Sunday, 4 November 2012

Smile! The Curiosity Rover’s Ultimate Self-Portrait

Source: Universe Today
OK, we thought the low-resolution self-portrait from yesterday was
great… but here’s the real goods: a monster, high-resolution awesome
mosaic of 55 images taken by the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI), showing
the rover at its spot in Gale Crater — called Rocknest — with the base
of Gale Crater’s 5-kilometer- (3-mile-) high mountain, Aeolis Mons or
Mount Sharp, rising in the background. The images were taken on Sol 84
(Oct. 31, 2012), and sent to Earth today. In the foreground, four scoop
scars can be seen in the regolith in front of the rover. As we mentioned
about the previous MAHLI mosaic, the arm was moved for each of the 55
images, so the arm and the camera doesn’t show up, just like any
photographer behind the camera (or their arms) isn’t visible in a
photograph.

You can get access to the full resolution version at this link. It’s amazing.
But that’s not all…